3S8 Brewster on Birds of Winc/tcndon, Massachusetts. [October 



Of mammals the white hare and Canada porcupine are abun- 

 dant. Deer and bears have been exterminated (the latter less 

 than fifty years ago), but a 'wild cat' is occasionally seen. Red 

 squirrels are numerous, gray squirrels less so, but still not 

 uncommon. Foxes, raccoons, woodchucks, skunks and striped 

 squirrels abound. 



The bird fauna, like the flora, is curiously mixed in character. 

 Thus, Brown Thrashers, Catbirds, Towhees, Meadowlarks, 

 and Baltimore Orioles occur with Winter Wrens, Golden-crested 

 Kinglets, Yellow-rumped and Black-and-yellow Warblers, 

 Juncos, and White-throated Sparrows. Unlike portions of 

 Berkshire County and the Catskills where these or equally 

 typical representatives of the Canadian and Alleghanian Faunas 

 are found near together, but respectively confined to difierent 

 altitudinal belts or areas and hence not to any considerable ex- 

 tent in actual company, the country about Winchendon seems to 

 form a neutral ground upon which the birds above-named inter- 

 mingle on the same levels, and often in the same thickets. If 

 altitude must be assumed to play any part in their distribution 

 its influence is directly contrary to the usual one, for most of the 

 northern birds, whether computed by species or individuals, 

 breed in the valleys, while the Alleghanian forms are certainly 

 not least numerously represented on the hill tops. This seem- 

 ing paradox is easily explained, however, when we reflect that 

 tlie woods in the low-lying swamps are closely similar to those 

 of northern New England, whereas the growth on the hills and 

 ridges is essentially the same as that of the lower portions of 

 Massachusetts. This is probably due to the fact that the ex- 

 tremes of elevation within the region are not sufficiently great to 

 overcome local influences, such as diflerences in soil, relative 

 amounts of moisture, etc. Be this as it may the birds evidently 

 settle wherever the woods, swamps, or fields are most to their 

 liking, without regard to elevation. Such a case may well 

 arouse suspicion as to the extent to which the distribution of 

 birds is directly governed by altitude, or its equivalent, latitude. 

 Is not the presence or absence of certain kinds of country, or of 

 particular trees or plants which furnish congenial food, shelter, 

 or nesting sites more likely to be the determining factor, at least 

 in very many cases .!* It would be interesting to plant a northern 

 forest in southern New England and await developments. If 



